my creative space

this is what I'm working on today....

for the Goodie Bag Swap on Flickr.

It might evolve into a zipped pouch to go with the bag instead of being part of the bag. I'm concerned it might be a little busy for my partner. We'll see....

Thanks for visiting!

x Mandy

Down Under Doll Quilt Swap ~Done!

First off I have to show you the beauty that I received.

Are you ready....

sure....

okay then

ta dahhhhhhhhh

My new beau and I went on a little tour of the garden.

We got a little carried away, but it was such fun!

This beauty came from Leah aka Smoochee over on flickr.

Thank you Leah, me loves it!

Now for the one I made for my partner.

I had a whole lota fun making this, quite a sideways shift from my normal Doll Quilt. I felt so relaxed during the making process. Sometimes things didn't work so I just deleted them, sometimes there were happy accidents, like making mitred corners of the pink and blue strips. I hope my partner likes what she receives. It was posted today, so hopefully I will know before the end of the week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheerio for now!

x Mandy

Down Under Doll Quilt Swap ~update!

I'm so excited about the girls I've made!

So without further ado,

may I present to you all....

Ash & Dot

or as my friend Rachael just suggested Agnetha and Frieda from Abba!! lol, that's so funny, cause it could also be Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths (love that movie). OR, even funnier, it could be my Sister and I, we have always danced to Abba's Dancing Queen together, and sung loudly I might add! Love ya Nic!

Cheerio!

x Mandy

I have been sewing, some!

Fresh Modern Bee block for Lynne of Lily's Quilts.

Plus a little pressie for her from the left over scraps.

Some Scrap Vomit blocks for Katy of I'm a ginger monkey, she gave me some Far Far Away II in exchange, too easy! Shhhh, there's a little pressie in the works for her. I love making stuff for pals. I must get back to another, not so little, pressie I'm making too.

Playing around with an idea for my Scrap Vomit quilt, please excuse the disgusting ironing board cover. I'm quite taken with the idea of a black outer diamond, black & white middle diamond and single colour centre cross. Yup, there are two black squares there that should be red, I was just quickly snapping to catch my idea before it flew away. The outers and other block will be utterly and totally scrappy.

Totally lovin this block! I've been wanting to try it for a while. It's the block I'm going to be making for my hive buddies in the 2nd quarter of the 3 x 6 bee on Flickr. They are also the colours I've asked for. The idea was to receive little Spring parcels over the Winter!

I first saw this block in a pic from the Tokyo 2011 Quilt Show on Flickr. I loved it then and thought I'd like to try and replicate it, my way of course! Then, can you believe, Amy from Badskirt had had the same thought. She'd decided to ask her Bee members to make it for her, and posted pics of how to construct it. If that wasn't exciting enough for me, a quilt along group has also started up. My first test block is a little wonky, but I had to have a go. I'm thinking of trying to make the block bigger too, cause I'm a slow sewer that likes fast results!!


This is how I decided to use my Sherbet Pips charm pack. This way I only lose a 1/2" strip off one side of the charm. Another block I've been eyeing off for a while, the Whirligig! I have to say, I really like the results so far. I'll put a aqua border on and pink binding.

And yet another idea I've been wanting to try. I might ask my bee pals to make me some words in July, cute huh!

Lastly, this is my idea for my partner in the Down Under DollQuilt Swap. I've just gathered together a few recent faves from Flickr. I'll be using my Sandy Klop fabric.

Okay, that's yer lot!

Thanks for visiting.

x Mandy

The Best Medicine

Not all purchases, there are a few swaps in there too, of course!! Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush came a couple of weeks ago, it didn't initially grab me when it first came out. But then I received a few bits in a scrap swap and I was totally smitten with these colourways. I'm going to mix it up with my collection of Good Folks, ha, yes, one day!! My pal Amy has done a couple of really wonderful quilts lately this one and this one. I'm thinking one of these would work really well. Which one? I'm not sure. The lovely Katy has also recently made this one too, which I'm completely drooling over.

Anywho, I just wanted to make a short post, get back into the swing of things, I wasn't ready to replace my previous post before now. Thank you to those who sent me emails about Skeeter, those virtual hugs really helped. I'm collecting his wooden box from the Vet's tomorrow, plenty of courage and deep breaths will be needed. They are a wonderful bunch of people at my Vet's. When I went in the day after Skeeter died, the nurse helping me with the next step, was crying just as much as me. And yesterday we received a lovely handwritten card from them. GDV robbed us of Skeeter, and although I got him to the Vet very quickly, it was too late for an 11 1/2 year old dog with a heart murmur. It was an horrific experience to have, but the future has brightened. The experience hasn't deterred me from getting another Vizsla, but I will get a puppy, and have his/her stomach sewn at desexing time. For a biggish gun dog, they are an amazingly affectionate breed, I love their colour, non-doggy smell, cuddles and fun personality.

Cheerio for now,
x Mandy